1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of insulated receptacles in general, and in particular to an enlarged transportable insulated food container that can be erected to a serving height at its point of use.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,591,194; 4,581,902, 4,671,079; 5,660,296; and 5,598,886, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse insulated food and beverage containers and receptacles.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical device to transport large quantities of chilled or heated foodstuffs to a location and then employ a self-contained means to elevate the container to a serving height.
As most party givers are all too well aware, while there are a large number of large capacity insulated coolers available, these devices require the act of bending over repeatedly to remove the contents of the container which continuously exposes the contents of the container to the ambient atmosphere.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved type of insulated food box construction that contains a collapsible support system to elevate the food box to a serving height at its point of use, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.